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Family Memories: How to Create a “Year At A Glance”

As the end of the year quickly approaches, you might already be thinking about how you are going to recap 2017 and share it with your family. One family tradition we do every year in my family, is to create a "Year At A Glance" recap. Each one of my siblings uses their own unique style when they compile their memories. I wanted to share a few of their ideas with you.

5 Way to Create a "Year At A Glance"

Create an annual newsletter that recaps what each person in your family has done throughout the year. This can include pictures, interviews, or articles from each family member. You could create articles that recap certain months or quarters. Newsletters not only preserve family memories, but are a great way to share everyone's thoughts and memories for the year.

Put together a video of all your favorite pictures from the year. My brother loves to make homemade movies. When his family goes on a trip, he comes home and makes a movie with all of his pictures. The movie has music and titles. It is so fun to see all the fun things their family is doing. When your memories are preserved with lights and sound, it makes it seem so magical.

Create a picture collage. This is one way my sister-in-law preserves her yearly memories. She takes her favorite pictures from the year, creates a frame with the pictures and then writes a family letter in the center of the frame. I think this is such a creative way to showcase what you are doing. You can quickly get a glimpse of what their family has done throughout the year and how much their kids have changed.

Write a family letter and send it out to friends and family. One way to make this fun would be to write a yearly letter from a different perspective. Tell it from the perspective of your baby or pet. Add humor and keep it to one page if possible. It is okay to talk about good and bad memories. I think this keeps it real and interesting.

Make a family album or scrapbook. There are so many fun ways to scrapbook these days. I know Becky Higgins Clark has a Project Life album that makes things easy for a busy mom. There are also ways to make a book online. Our family has used Shutterfly to create a beautiful book of all our yearly memories or of a particular event or time that was special to us. One fun idea I did a few years ago was make a cousin book for my parents. I spotlighted each grandchild and what they had been doing during the year. This was a fun gift to give not only my parents, but a copy for my family that my kids still like to look at today.

Whatever you decide to do to preserve your family memories, the most important thing is to just do it. Don't wait until the end of the year to get started. Make a plan and surprise your family with a gift that will be something they treasure for a lifetime.

What are your favorite ways to preserve your family's memories?

Jill Greenlaw has a banking background. She gave that up 17 years ago when she got married and started having kids. She loved being a stay-at-home mom while raising her four beautiful children. A few years ago, Jill went back to work in sales. She is now working for the Mom It Forward team as their Community Manager. She loves her job. Her interests include camping, motorcycling, boating, photography, reading, cooking, and traveling. Put her in flip flops anywhere warm and she is happy.